“He pointed out to me some men sitting on a seat, and one man sitting on a chair. And he says to me, “Do you see the persons sitting on the seat?” “I do, sir,” said I. “These,” says he, “are the faithful, and he who sits on the chair is a false prophet, ruining the minds of the servants of ELOHIM. It is the doubters, not the faithful, that he ruins. These doubters then go to him as to a soothsayer (one who tells the future by magical means), and inquire of him what will happen to them; and he, the false prophet, not having the power of a Divine Spirit in him, answers them according to their inquiries, and according to their wicked desires, and fills their souls with expectations, according to their own wishes. For being himself empty, he gives empty answers to empty inquirers; for every answer is made to the emptiness of man. Some true words he does occasionally utter; for the devil fills him with his own spirit, in the hope that he may be able to overcome some of the righteous. As many, then, as are strong in the faith of YAHWEH, and are clothed with truth, have no connection with such spirits, but keep away from them; but as many as are of doubtful minds and frequently repent, betake themselves to soothsaying, even as the heathen, and bring greater sin upon themselves by their idolatry.” For he who inquires of a false prophet in regard to any action is an IDOLATOR, and devoid of the truth, and foolish.”
Those who turn to false prophets are empty, devoid the truth, act as heathens and are idolaters because they are turning to the devil other than YAHWEH for counsel. This is a direct violation of the second commandment by you placing another above our ELOHIM.
Exodus 20:3
“You shall have no other mighty ones except Me.”
This is serious because the devil is filling these false prophets with words to lead astray the righteous, this means he can speak through anyone who isn’t living completely for ELOHIM. The words of the false prophet may sound good and will divert you off of the path that YAHWEH told you to go if you are not grounded in the truth. Because these evil spirits can occasionally utter the truth as the malach of repentance said:
Acts 16:16-19
“And it occurred that, as we were going to the house of prayer, a certain maid met us, who had a SPIRIT OF DIVINATION, and who procured her masters great gain by the DIVINATION which she performed. Then she followed after Paul and us, and cried, saying: “These men are the servants of the Most High ELOHIM, and they announce to you the path of life. “and this she did many days. And Paul was indignant; and he said to that spirit, “I command you, in the Name of YESHUA HA’MASHIACH, that you come out of her.” And it came out the same hour.”
As we see she was filled with the spirit of divination, yet she was still able to tell the truth by identifying them as servants of YESHUA and announcing the Good News.
YAHWEH commands us in His Torah to stay away from soothsaying/divination in the Torah:
Leviticus 19:26 (Samaritan)
“You shall not eat with the blood, and do not practice conjecture nor soothsay the clouds.”
A soothsayer according to Collins dictionary is one who believed they could see into the future and say what was going to happen. Synonyms: prophet, DIVINER, ORACLE (My note: like the oracles of Delphi in Paul’s day), fortune-teller.
Leviticus 19:26 (Aramaic)
“You shall not eat blood, you shall not practice DIVINATION, with birds, nor shall you consult an ORACLE.”
Shepherd of Hermas continued: “For no spirit given by ELOHIM requires to be asked; but such a spirit having the power of Divinity speaks all things of itself, for it proceeds from above from the power of the Divine Spirit. But the spirit which is asked and speaks according to the desires of men is earthly, light, and powerless, and it is altogether silent if it is not questioned.”
John 16:13-16 (Hebrew)
“But when that Spirit of truth will come, He will teach you all truth. For He will not speak of His own heart, only the words which He hears He will speak, and make known to you those words. He will esteem Me-from My Father He will take, and will make known to you all the things which are My Father’s-which are Mine-and He will make them known to you.”
The RUACH HA’KODESH only speaks what He hears from YAHWEH and will announce to us things to come; therefore, the Spirit of truth does not operate like the spirit of the false prophet where it speaks on its on accord to fulfill the lusts of men; whereas the RUACH HA’KODESH wants to serve YAHWEH and bring esteem to YESHUA.
Shepherd of Hermas continued: “How then, sir,” say I, “will a man know which of them is the prophet, and which the false prophet?” “I will tell you,” says he, “about both the prophets, and then you can try (test) the true and the false prophet according to my directions. Try the man who has the Divine Spirit by his life. First, he who has the Divine Spirit proceeding from above is meek, and peaceable, and humble, and refrains from all iniquity and the vain desire of this world, and contents himself with fewer wants than those of other men (1 Timothy 6:8 “But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”), and when asked he makes no reply; nor does he speak privately, nor when man wishes the spirit to speak does the RUACH HA’KODESH speak, but it speaks only when ELOHIM wishes it to speak.”
Firstly, the true prophet that has the RUACH HA’KODESH dwelling within him will display the fruits of the Spirit by his life:
Galatians 5:22-24
“But the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control…”
Secondly, when the prophet is asked he makes no reply but only speaks when given the words by the RUACH HA’KODESH:
Jeremiah 42:1-9
“Then all the officers of the forces and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah and all the people from the young to the old came near. And said to Jeremiah, we beseech you, pray for us before YAHWEH your ELOHIM, for we are left but a few of many, as your eyes see us; that YAHWEH our ELOHIM may show us the way by which we may go and the thing that we may do. Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray before YAHWEH your ELOHIM according to your words; and it shall come to pass that whatever YAHWEH shall answer you, I will declare it to you; I will hide nothing from you. Then they said to Jeremiah, may YAHWEH be a true and faithful witness between us if we do not do according to the word with which YAHWEH your ELOHIM shall send to us. Whether it be good or whether it be bad, we will obey the voice of YAHWEH our ELOHIM to whom we send you; that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of YAHWEH our ELOHIM. And it came to pass AFTER TEN DAYS THAT THE WORD OF YAHWEH CAME TO JEREMIAH THE PROPHET.”
As we see Jeremiah did not speak until he heard from YAHWEH which was 10 days later, unlike the false prophet.
Shepherd of Hermas continued: “When, then, a man having the Divine Spirit comes into an assembly of righteous men who have faith in the Divine Spirit, and this assembly of men offers up prayer to ELOHIM, then the malach (angel) of the prophetic Spirit, who is destined for him, fills the man; and the man being filled with the RUACH HA’KODESH, speaks to the multitude (not privately) as YAHWEH wishes (John 16:13-16). Thus, then, will the Spirit of Divinity become manifest. Whatever power therefore comes from the Spirit of Divinity belongs to YAHWEH. Hear, then,” says he, “in regard to the spirit which is earthly, and empty, and powerless, and foolish. First, the man who SEEMS to have the Spirit exalts himself (the opposite of the humble man who has the RUACH HA’KODESH), and wishes to have the first seat, and is bold, and impudent, and talkative, and lives in the midst of many luxuries and many other delusions, and takes rewards for his prophecy; and if he does not receive rewards, he does not prophesy. Can, then, the Divine Spirit take rewards and prophesy? It is not possible that the prophet of ELOHIM should do this, but prophets of this character are possessed by an earthly spirit.
Micah 3:11
“The chiefs thereof judge for a bribe, and its priests teach for hire (hired like a job and won’t teach unless being paid), and its prophets divine for money…”
As the malach of repentance said these false prophets live in the midst of many luxuries and most of them flaunt it with their lifestyle. The prophets divining for money matches the words of the malach of repentance: “and if he does not receive rewards, he does not prophesy.” Also, as we read earlier, YAHWEH says to stay away from divination/soothsaying in Leviticus 19:26, which means these prophets spoken of in Micah 3:11 have to be false prophets because they are using divination, again matching the words of the malach of repentance “It is the doubters, not the faithful, that he (false prophet) ruins. These doubters then go to him as to a soothsayer.”
Shepherd of Hermas continued: “Then it never approaches an assembly of righteous men, but shuns them. And it associates with doubters and the vain, and prophesies to them in a comer, and deceives them, speaking to them, according to their desires, mere empty words: for they are empty to whom it gives its answers. For the empty vessel, when placed along with the empty, is not crushed, but they correspond to each other. When, therefore, it (false spirit) comes into an assembly of righteous men who have a Spirit of Divinity, and they (false prophet) offer up prayer, that man is made empty, and the earthly spirit flees from him through fear, and that man is made dumb, and is entirely crushed, being unable to speak.”
“For if you pack closely a storehouse with wine or oil, and put an empty jar in the midst of the vessels of wine or oil, you will find that jar empty as when you placed it, if you should wish to clear the storehouse. So also the empty prophets, when they come to the spirits of the righteous, are found [on leaving] to be such as they were when they came. This, then, is the mode of life of both prophets. Try (test) by his deeds and his life the man who says that he is inspired.”
Revelation 2:2 (Hebrewgospels.com)
“I know your works and your hope, and that you are not able to bear the wicked ones, and that you TESTED those who say they are PROPHETS while the are not, and found that they are deceivers.”
Shepherd of Hermas continued: But as for you, trust the Spirit which comes from ELOHIM, and has power; but the spirit which is earthly and empty trust not at all, for there is no power in it: it comes from the devil. Hear, then, the parable which I am to tell you. Take a stone, and throw it to the sky, and see if you can touch it. Or again, take a squirt of water and squirt into the sky, and see if you can penetrate the sky.” “How, sir,” say I, “can these things take place? for both of them are impossible.” “As these things,” says he, “are impossible, so also are the earthly spirits powerless and pithless (weak). But look, on the other hand, at the power which comes from above. Hail is of the size of a very small grain, yet when it falls on a man’s head how much annoyance it gives him! Or, again, take the drop which falls from a pitcher to the ground, and yet it hollows a stone. You see, then, that the smallest things coming from above have great power when they fall upon the earth. Thus also is the Divine Spirit, which comes from above, powerful. Trust, then, that Spirit, but have nothing to do with the other.”
This is a serious topic because many people love prophets, they love the unknown of the future, and there seems to be people calling themselves prophets around every corner, and these false prophets have ensnared those who follow them. Being a prophet is not a glamourous position as we know that prophets were despised. Furthermore, if a prophet got a prophecy wrong they would be put to death, why? The prophet is supposed to be mouthpiece for YAHWEH and when a prophecy does not come to pass when that prophet said it would, then people who were waiting for the prophecy to be fulfilled begin to question ELOHIM, their faith dwindles and the faith as a whole begins to be mocked. Many “So-called” prophets today would not be living to tell another false prophecy if we were living in the land of Yisra’el.
Deuteronomy 18:20-22
“But the prophet who shall presume to speak a word in My Name which I have NOT commanded him to speak, or who shall speak in the name of the name of other mighty ones, that prophet shall be put to death. And if you say in your heart, how shall we know the word which YAHWEH has not spoken? When a prophet speaks in the Name of YAHWEH, and the thing does NOT come to pass, nor follow; that is the thing which YAHWEH has NOT SPOKEN, but the prophet has spoken presumptuously, you shall not be afraid of him.”
Jeremiah 28:1-17
“In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of YAHWEH, in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying, 2 “Thus says YAHWEH of hosts (speaking in the Name of YAHWEH), the ELOHIM of Yisrael: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Within two years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of YAHWEH's house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. 4 I will also bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, declares YAHWEH, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.”
5 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Hananiah the prophet in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of YAHWEH, 6 and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Ahmein! May YAHWEH do so; may YAHWEH make the words that you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of YAHWEH, and all the exiles. 7 Yet hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. 8 The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. 9 As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that YAHWEH has truly sent the prophet.”
10 Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke-bars from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke them. 11 And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says YAHWEH: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within two years.” But Jeremiah the prophet went his way.
12 Sometime after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke-bars from off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, the word of YAHWEH came to Jeremiah: 13 “Go, tell Hananiah, ‘Thus says YAHWEH: You have broken wooden bars, but you have made in their place bars of iron. 14 For thus says YAHWEH of hosts, the ELOHIM of Yisrael: I have put upon the neck of all these nations an iron yoke to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they shall serve him, for I have given to him even the beasts of the field.’” 15 And Jeremiah the prophet said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, YAHWEH has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. 16 Therefore thus says YAHWEH: ‘Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have uttered rebellion against YAHWEH.’”17 In that same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hananiah died.”
As we see being a prophet is not fun and games, it’s a serious matter to our Father YAHWEH! And to those who are following these false prophets be sure to test them with everything the malach of repentance said which backs up all the words of scripture. As always, may our Father YAHWEH bless you in YESHUA’s Name!